Citation: Jean Pierre Ribeiro Daquila (2024). Generation Z Linguistic Behavior in the UAE: A Threat to Emirati Arabic?.
Sch Int J Linguist Lit, 7(4): 120-144.
120
Scholars International Journal of Linguistics and Literature
Abbreviated Key Title: Sch Int J Linguist Lit
ISSN 2616-8677 (Print) |ISSN 2617-3468 (Online)
Scholars Middle East Publishers, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Journal homepage: https://saudijournals.com
Original Research Article
Generation Z Linguistic Behavior in the UAE: A Threat to Emirati
Arabic?
Jean Pierre Ribeiro Daquila
1*
1
ESERP Business and Law School, 08010 Barcelona, Spain
DOI: 10.36348/sijll.2024.v07i04.004 | Received: 22.03.2024 | Accepted: 26.04.2024 | Published: 30.04.2024
*Corresponding author: Jean Pierre Ribeiro Daquila
ESERP Business and Law School, 08010 Barcelona, Spain
Abstract
This research analyzes the characteristics of Emirati Generation Z, millennials, and baby boomers, and the influence of
social media to explain linguistic changes in the UAE. To do so, we administered a questionnaire containing 100 English
words commonly used in Emirati Arabic; We have classified the types of English words and expressions used by the three
generation cohorts. Participants also responded to a qualitative questionnaire, concerning the role that English played
during the pandemic, Emiratis’ behavior towards social media, and their viewpoint regarding the influence of English in
Emirati Arabic. Results showed that Generation Z uses more English words and expressions than the other two generations.
Generation Z attended bilingual education in English and Arabic since primary school whereas most millennials and all
baby boomers attended school exclusively in Arabic. We have examined that social media contributed to more English
words in Emirati Arabic and determined the reasons why Generation G prefers to use English on social media and in their
daily lives. We could conclude that Generation Z and most millennials see English positively and as inevitable progress in
a globalized world while baby boomers see it as a threat to their language and culture. Generation Z also outperformed the
other two generations regarding the pronunciation of words in English when speaking Emirati Arabic.
Keywords: Emirati Arabic, Gulf Arabic, Gen Z, millennials, baby boomers, English, social media, code-mixing, code-
switching, multilingualism, linguistic diversity.
Copyright © 2024 The Author(s): This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
License (CC BY-NC 4.0) which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium for non-commercial use provided the original
author and source are credited.
1. INTRODUCTION
People throughout the world are affected by
technology’s quick development, particularly those who
belong to generation Z (from now on Gen Z), born
between 1997 and 2013 (Dolot, 2018). Gen Z was born
in the digital era and it is impossible for them to function
without modern technologies (Ivanova and Smrikarov,
2009; Tarihoran and Sumirat, 2022). Since Gen Z is the
first genuinely digital generation to have grown up with
technology and cell phones, they like social media for
communication and other purposes. According to
Morning Consult's survey (Briggs, 2022), YouTube is
the most-used platform for Gen Z with 88% spending
their time on the app followed by Instagram (76%),
TikTok (68%,) and Snapchat (67%). They have access to
mobile gadgets, digital devices, and the internet, which
has a significant impact on them (Tarihoran and Sumirat,
2022). They like communicating through social media
rather than conventional ways of communication such as
SMS and phone calls (Murray and Waller, 2007;
Tarihoran and Sumirat, 2022). Furthermore, the
literature shows that English is the language that
dominates social media (Tarihoran and Sumirat, 2022).
Social media gives people access to a
globalized world, and connects Western and Arab
identities, particularly throughout adolescence and the
early years of adulthood. As a result, we want to
investigate if this transition poses a risk to linguistic
stability and how the self-definition of young people in
the UAE may be replicated via the use of communication
technology, particularly by engaging with the social
media ecosystem. To do this, we will analyze the
sociolinguistic behaviors of Gen Z, marked by
complexity and contradictions, and situated in a culture
that is basically characterized by a dynamic clash
between tradition and modernity. In addition, we will
also analyze two previous generations - millennials and
baby boomers- and compare the number of English
words they use in Emirati Arabic with Gen Z.
Regarding language use in the UAE, it is
important to note that except for court documents
(Dorsey, 2018), all other documents are available in
English (in most banks, hospitals, and universities) or
they may be solely in English as is the case with bank
documents for expats, who make up for 90% of the
Jean Pierre Ribeiro Daquila, Sch Int J Linguist Lit, Apr, 2024; 7(4): 120-144
© 2024 | Published by Scholars Middle East Publishers, Dubai, United Arab Emirates 121
population (Ribeiro Daquila, 2020, p.1; GMI, 2023). It is
essential to understand the distinctions between Modern
Standard Arabic (MSA) and Emirati Arabic to
completely understand this research. The dialectal
Arabic spoken in the UAE is known as Emirati Arabic.
The formal and official language used in the Arab World,
Modern Standard Arabic, is the language used in the
Arab world for formal speeches, publications, and news
broadcasts (Ribeiro Daquila, 2020, 2021, 2022).
However, to perform daily tasks like ordering food,
eating at restaurants, or buying clothes in shopping malls
in big cities like Dubai and Abu Dhabi, Emiratis are
forced to speak in English. (Ribeiro Daquila, 2020, p. 1).
Alenazi (2023, p.3) identified the same phenomenon in
Saudi Arabia. This study added to the list of situations in
which Saudi locals use English on social media
platforms, such as Snapchat and X. According to a
survey conducted by Al-Hussien and Belhiah (2016)
with Emirati Gen Z students aged 12 to 17, these
participants primarily speak their dialect at home with
their family and among their Emirati friends, but 98% of
them prefer to use English when using the internet.
Additionally, 85% would rather read in English than
Arabic. Although Emirati Arabic is the preferred
language at home, the literature reveals that there has
been an increase in English in Emirati residences
(O’Neill, 2017; Kennetz and Carroll, 2018, p. 175). Arab
native speakers rarely use MSA to communicate with
other natives. Instead, they use their dialects. Emirati
Arabic is full of English words and verbs; therefore, this
study will analyze the impact of English on Emirati
Arabic in the three aforementioned generations. Emirati
official policies favor English over other languages like
Hindi, for instance, which is spoken by 28% of the
population in the UAE since it is the lingua franca.
Government-funded schools have progressively
embraced a bilingual curriculum in order to give the
majority of Emiratis a similar educational experience to
wealthy Emiratis and migrant students, who attend
English-medium private schools (Kennetz and Carroll,
2018, p. 180). These funded and private schools in
primary and secondary school (K-12) in Dubai cater to
90% of all school students. This change to a bilingual
curriculum led Emirati students to bilingualism.
However, English proficiency was acquired at the
expense of Arabic (Ziad, 2019, p. 143).
In the UAE, in Formal contexts such as
educational institutes, code-mixing [
] between MSA
and English is prohibited (Cummins, 2007; Hopkyns et
al., 2021, Carroll and van den Hoven, 2017; Hopkyns et
al., 2021). These researchers say that such rules cause
young Emiratis to assume that 'double monolingualism'
(Al-Bataineh and Gallagher, 2018) is preferable to
Mixing two languages in a sentence. For the full
definition of code-mixing, see section 2.1.5.
Alramsa Institute was founded in Dubai by Ms. Hanan
Al-Fardan and Mr. Abdulla Alkaabi, more than 25
books have been published in the Emirati dialect, most
linguistic mixing in formal contexts. In addition to
speaking Emirati Arabic with family and friends,
according to Hopkyn et al., (2021) and Ribeiro Daquila
(2020, 2021, 2022), Gen Z in the United Arab Emirates
(UAE) is heavily influenced by the English language.
This study will analyze to what extent English words and
expressions are being used in Emirati Arabic. We
consider English and Emirati Arabic the most used
language for communication among Emiratis in the
everyday context, instead of MSA (Kennetz and Carroll,
2018; Ribeiro Daquila, 2020, 2021; Hopkyn et al.,
2021).
1.2. Motivation
Being a translator and editor of Emirati Arabic
books at Alramsa Institute [
], I have always encountered
so many English words in Emirati Arabic that I started to
do research on this phenomenon in 2018. Previous
research (Ribeiro Daquila, 2022, p. 328-331) revealed
that Gen Z has a predilection for using more English
words when speaking Emirati Arabic than older Emiratis.
The previous questionnaire included only 30 English
words used in Emirati Arabic (Ribeiro Daquila, 2022, p.
338) and participants suggested others that were
included in this study. Therefore, this study looks into
how English is being used in Emirati Arabic by three
different generations; we intend to broaden the academic
knowledge of the lexicon of English words used in
Emirati Arabic.
1.3. Research Question
Regarding Emirati Gen Z and the use of words
and expressions in English, the following research
questions were posed:
Regarding the 100-English-word questionnaire
(Appendix B):
1. Are there phonetical and/or grammar
differences in the incorporation of English
words and expressions in the three groups?
2. Is the influence of English greater in the present
Gen Z group aged 15-16, when compared to our
previous Gen Z aged 17-18 surveyed three
years ago?
3. How much English is used in Emirati Arabic by
Gen Z when compared with older Emiratis (60
and over)?
Regarding the qualitative questionnaire (Appendix C):
4. Does social media have an impact on the
increase in English words and expressions in
Emirati Gen Z speech?
5. Can English be considered a threat to the
endurance of Emirati Arabic?
of which are textbooks for expats and even for Emiratis
who want to dive into their own dialect. Alramsa is an
institute specialized in teaching Emirati Arabic. I have
been working as a translator, proofreader, and editor for
Alramsa since June 2018.
Jean Pierre Ribeiro Daquila, Sch Int J Linguist Lit, Apr, 2024; 7(4): 120-144
© 2024 | Published by Scholars Middle East Publishers, Dubai, United Arab Emirates 122
2. Characteristics of Each Generation Cohort
For decades, Pew Research Center has been
measuring public attitudes on key issues and
documenting differences in those attitudes across
demographic groups (Parker, 2022). Researchers divide
modern generations into 6 groups:
The Silent Generation: Born 1928-1945
Baby Boomers: Born 1946-1964
Generation X: Born 1965-1980
Millennials: Born 1981-1996
Generation Z: Born 1997-2010
Generation Alpha: Born 2010-2025
Image generated by fotor, (2023) [
]
Our study compares the use of English words in
Emirati Arabic among Gen Zeers, millennials, and baby
boomers. As Pew Research Center (Pekerti and Denni,
2017) reminds us, Stereotypes and oversimplification are
sometimes caused by generational designations. Just as
not all Southerners, Catholics, or Black Americans are
the same, not all millennials or baby boomers are either.
Shared identities and experiences should be
acknowledged since they may be inspiring when done
well, but uniqueness shouldn't be sacrificed in the
process. We decided to leave out Generation X to keep
the focus on the three generations researched in our
previous study (Ribeiro Daquila, 2022), and to have a
generation gap that allows us to compare two younger
generations (Gen Z and millennials) with an older one
(baby boomers).
2.1. Generation Cohorts
Inglehart initially presented the generational
cohort theory in 1977 to segment a population.
Accordingly, the lifespan of a generational cohort may
be 2025 or even more years long, depending on the
average amount of time for a particular birth group in a
given country to go from conception to childbearing
(Strauss and Howe, 1991; Meredith and Schewe, 2004).
The early adult years (ages 17 to 24) of each generation
are often characterized by shared experiences and
socially significant events.
Fotor, 2023 https://www.fotor.com/images/create
2.1.2. Generation Z
Gen Z is defined as those who were born in the
1990s and reared in the 2000s through the most
significant changes of the century and who live in a
world with the web, internet, smartphones, laptops,
freely accessible networks, and digital media (Dangmei
and Amarendra, 2016; Ribeiro Daquila, 2023a). The
social web has been a part of Gen Z's upbringing, and the
digital world is important to their identity. Their
existence is more closely tied to technology and the
digital world than any prior generation since they were
born and nurtured in it. The most racially and
technologically diverse generation is Gen Z, according
to Dangmei and Amarendra (2016). Social networking is
a crucial aspect of Gen Z's existence, and they have a
casual, direct, and distinctive communication style. Gen
Zeers are considered digitally self-taught and they turn
to YouTube to learn something new (Ameen and Anand,
2020, p. 184). According to research (Schawbel, 2014;
Dangmei and Amarendra, 2016), Gen Z is less driven by
money than Millennials and is more entrepreneurial,
trustworthy, tolerant, and open-minded.
Four out of five of their favorite brands are
technology companies. They’re abandoning traditional
corporate jobs in favor of content creation, and they’ve
even devised a new vocabulary inspired by algorithmic
guidelines (Briggs, 2022).
The influence of English in the United Arab
Emirates (UAE) has been significant, particularly among
Jean Pierre Ribeiro Daquila, Sch Int J Linguist Lit, Apr, 2024; 7(4): 120-144
© 2024 | Published by Scholars Middle East Publishers, Dubai, United Arab Emirates 123
Gen Z (Ribeiro Daquila, 2022, p. 328-331). Arab
countries are diverse in terms of culture, language, and
demographics, so it’s important to recognize that
experiences may vary across different countries within
the Arab world. There are a lot of foreigners living and
working in the UAE, who come from many different
nations (Onley, 2009). These various communities
communicate in English as a common language.
Emiratis use their dialect except for the interaction with
other Emiratis or with other Arabs. We must keep in
mind that Emiratis and Arabs account for only 15% of
the population in the UAE (GMI, 2023). Since they were
raised in such a diverse setting, Emirati Gen Zeers have
naturally adopted English as a way of communication
(GMI, 2023; Ribeiro Daquila, 2021, p.5). As the
language of global business and commerce, English
proficiency is highly prized in the UAE employment
market. Gen Z prioritizes studying and using English
because they are aware of how important it is for job
growth and access to global possibilities (Ribeiro
Daquila, 2020, p. 3). The UAE is a popular tourist
destination and receives millions of visitors annually.
English is the business standard for tourism and
hospitality, enabling Gen Z to communicate effectively
with tourists and participate in the growing tourism
sector (Ameen and Anand, 2020 p.182).
2.1.3. Generation Z and COVID-19
Learning at home was more challenging for
kids who lacked motivation when COVID-19 divided
homes from one another and parents and guardians were
worried about their financial future (Daniel, 2020; Wan
Pa et al., 2021). Depending on their level, topic of study,
and program of study, the COVID-19 pandemic had a
substantial influence on students' lives in several ways.
In addition, many students discovered that they were
unable to finish their university coursework and tests on
time, and in many cases, they had been abruptly excluded
from their social group. In these situations, social media
was essential as a medium for communication and
information dissemination. People regularly turned to
the media in response to hardship and ordinary
annoyances (Wan Pa et al., 2021). Literature (Zhao and
Zhou, 2021; Wan Pa et al., 2021) found that people
tended to use social media for problem-focused
activities, such as looking up health-related information
and emotion-focused coping, when faced with COVID-
19 problems, such as expressing emotions for mood
management or joining online communities for social
support.
Despite the clear advantages of social media
during emergencies like COVID-19, more frequent
usage of the platform is likely to lead to social media
addiction (Kashif, et al., 2020; Zhao and Zhou, 2021),
which may be caused by the government's policy to stay
at home and the abundance of free time. Many people
became agitated and afraid if they did not use it during
the coronavirus lockdown. According to Wan Pa et al.,
(2021) whose study included 96 Gen Zeers, 57.6% of
respondents' academic performance was considerably
impacted by social media addiction. Our research
question 4 will analyze if there was an increase in the use
of English words in Emirati Arabic due to social media
in the UAE as well as if there was a rise in the use of
social media during the COVID-19 pandemic.
2.1.4. Millennials (less commonly Gen Y)
People who were born between 1981 and 1996
are referred to as millennials, also known as Generation
Y or Gen Y, while the exact dates might vary by one or
two years depending on the source. William Strauss and
Neil Howe initially adopted it in their 1991 book
Generations because they thought it was a fitting
moniker for the first generation of adults born in the new
century. Between Generation X (Gen X; defined as those
born between 1965 and 1980) and Gen Z is the group
known as millennials (Zelazko, 2023). Millennials came
of age during an era of major technological shifts,
especially those associated with the rise in the use of the
Internet. Yet millennials don't merely use technology in
a passive way. They are a few of its primary motivators.
Over the course of ten years, Mark Zuckerberg
possibly one of the most well-known millennialsgrew
Facebook from a student directory into a potent and
significant social networking platform. The creators of
Instagram, Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger, as well as
the creator of TikTok, Zhang Yiming, are other
millennial innovators (Zelazko, 2023). Millennials are
also considered the most educated generation.
Hopykns et al., (2021) research concentrates on
Emirati millennials in the educational setting. This study
concluded that the idea of 'language purity' is
unsustainable and undesirable in today's globalized
world. Both English and Arabic are often used. Arabic is
more common at home, but English is more common in
public settings, internet, and academic settings (Hopykns
et al., 2021, p. 187-189). Moreover, this generation has
earned considerable attention in the literature,
particularly regarding human resources in the workplace
(Alaleeli and Alnajjar, 2019).
2.1.5. Generation Z’s and Millennials’ linguistic
behavior
Gen Z and millennials share some common
linguistic traits in regions or countries in which English
functions as lingua franca such as the Gulf Countries
(Hopkyns et al., 2021 p. 177; Ribeiro Daquila, 2022, p.
337-338) or even where it is the co-official language, in
the Philippines for instance (Sales, 2022, p. 43). In
cosmopolitan cities such as Dubai and Abu Dhabi,
Emirati Gen Z and Millennials have developed a strong
proficiency in English, enabling them to carry out daily
activities like ordering meals, dining at restaurants, and
purchasing at shopping malls. Other traits are code-
mixing. Code-switching is a common term for alternate
use of two (or more) languages, or varieties of languages
in the execution of a speech act. In other words, code-
mixing is intrasentential while code-switching is
Jean Pierre Ribeiro Daquila, Sch Int J Linguist Lit, Apr, 2024; 7(4): 120-144
© 2024 | Published by Scholars Middle East Publishers, Dubai, United Arab Emirates 124
intersentential. Some scholars maintain that there is no
sharp distinction between code-mixing and code-
switching (Ritchie & Bhatia, 2013. p. 337, Tarihoran and
Sumirat, 2022).
Code-switching is also used to emphasize or
clarify a sentence. Even if a non-Arab individual is
proficient in Arabic, the Arab native speaker shifts to
English to ensure that he is understood (Hopkyns et al.,
2021 p. 178; Ribeiro Daquila, 2022, p. 319-320). Code-
mixing, the mixing of expressions, phrases, or words of
the grammar of two languages within a sentence in this
case, Gen Z and millennials switch between Emirati
Arabic and English words, depending on the context and
the people they are communicating with (Hopkyns et al.,
2021, p. 178-180; Ribeiro Daquila, 2022, p. 319-320,
Alenazi, 2023, p. 7-8). An example of code-mixing
identified in our study in the UAE was:
1. khalni a post b a picture c
Let me a post b a picture c
Let me post a picture.
Al-Hussien and Belhiah's (2016) study in Abu
Dhabi supports this convergence, revealing Emirati Gen
Z's preference for English in reading, writing, and online
communication, reserving Arabic primarily for close
social circles (54% with friends, 90.7% with family). To
delve deeper, our research employs a questionnaire
(Appendix B) featuring 100 English words to analyze
their integration within Emirati Arabic across three
generations.
2.1.6. Baby Boomers
Baby boomers are the group born in the years
immediately after World War II, when birth rates spiked
significantly in several nations, including the USA,
Canada, Australia, Norway, and France. No one
component can fully explain each boom (Bump, 2023).
The fact that they identify as "digital immigrants" does
not imply that they utilize digital media for everyday
communication. They have significant purchasing
power, and they place a high priority on their health,
particularly women (Saucedo Soto et al., 2018; Carrillo-
Durán et al., 2022), who are worried about the financial
security of their families, want to support their
community, want to maintain their youth, and want to be
fully integrated into society and context (Carrillo-Durán
et al., 2022).
No other generation group has increased their
presence on social media platforms as much as baby
boomers, who went from using it at a rate of 24% in 2016
to 48% in 2017, according to research from the
Coolhunting Group (2017, p. 20-26). 91% of baby
boomers use one or more social media networks.
Additionally, baby boomers are more dependable in the
digital environment, more inclined to get better material,
read more, and spend more time on company websites.
Additionally, almost 70% of people love viewing videos
(Coolhunting Group, 2017, p. 20-26).
2.1.6.1. Baby Boomers’ Linguistic Behavior
There is little literature on baby boomer’s
linguistic behavior in the UAE. In a previous study
(Ribeiro Daquila, 2022, p. 329-330), Baby boomers
demonstrated to be more loyal to MSA when compared
to the younger generations Gen Z and millennials. They
rarely use verbs in English when speaking Emirati
Arabic, such as check, download, and cancel.
Nevertheless, these verbs are commonly used among the
younger Emirati generations. One study carried out in the
UAE (Al-Shibami and Khan, 2020, p.6128) concluded
that baby boomers might have difficulties with
technological advancements and they would rather learn
content through an instructor rather than learning from
the internet.
2.2. Early connections between the Emirates and
English
Only diachronically can English progress in the
UAE be understood. From 1809 to 1966, the UAE
experienced the foundation phase or the start of the
English language (Ribeiro Daquila, 2021 p.3; Schneider,
2007) occurred when Britain dispatched expeditions to a
few Qasimi ports in the regions of Sharjah and Ras al-
Khaimah, two of the Emirates that make up the UAE.
During this time, locals made their first interactions with
English. The ties between the UAE and England
deepened in 1820 when England implemented the
General Treaty in the area.
The second phase, also known as the
exonormative stabilization (Schneider, 2007), lasted
from 1966 to 2004 and saw the adoption of English as
the bureaucratic language and the language of instruction
at schools (Boyle, 2012; Ribeiro Daquila, 2021, p.4).
The third and last phase is the nativization
phase, which began in 2004 and continues today
(Schneider, 2007). This time is still developing;
therefore, it cannot yet be fully described. Karmani
(2005) asserts that the UAE government rapidly
modernized and westernized the educational system,
abandoning an antiquated memorization-based
educational system in the process.
3. MATERIALS AND METHODS
A short questionnaire was made (see Appendix
A) to select participants for this study to find out their
age, gender, level of education, place of residence, and
of work when applicable.
A quantitative questionnaire containing 100
words in English that are often used in Emirati Arabic
was made specifically for this study (see Appendix B).
This questionnaire was initially a 30-English-word
questionnaire used in Emirati Arabic extracted from
Ribeiro Daquila’s study (2022, p.337-338). In the study
Jean Pierre Ribeiro Daquila, Sch Int J Linguist Lit, Apr, 2024; 7(4): 120-144
© 2024 | Published by Scholars Middle East Publishers, Dubai, United Arab Emirates 125
in 2022, other twenty-five English words used in Emirati
Arabic were suggested by Emirati participants and these
words were added to our present questionnaire. Finally,
we interviewed Emirati teachers at Alramsa Institute in
Dubai who helped us complete our 100-item
questionnaire. The data were collected from November
2022 to January 2023. All respondents lived mostly in
Dubai, however, in the baby boomers’ group, there were
8 respondents from Sharjah; in the millennials, there
were two participants from Sharjah who work in Dubai
and two male participants from Abu Dhabi. The
questionnaires were administered at Alramsa Institute in
Dubai. Some Emirati friends and teachers at Alramsa
Institute also participated as respondents and
collaborated to find the most participants for the
research; 10 questionnaires were administered in Dubai
Mall and Mall of the Emirates.
A second qualitative questionnaire was created
to find out Emiratis’ language preferences when they are
on social media and if social media led them to use more
English words in their speech (see Appendix C). We also
enquired about the amount of English they use when they
talk in Emirati Arabic and their fears or expectations
regarding such practice. Both questionnaires (Appendix
B and C) lasted around 12 minutes. AI was used in this
article to assist in the improvement of grammar accuracy
and connectors, and to generate the image in the previous
section.
3.1. Participants
Both questionnaires were administered in
Dubai to 150 participants:
50 generation-Z respondents born in 2007 and 2008 24
females and 26 males. All of whom go to high school in
Dubai and have never lived in an English-speaking
country.
50 millennial respondents born between 1978 and 1983
25 females and 25 males all from Dubai except for two
male participants from Abu Dhabi. They have never
lived in an English-speaking country.
50 Baby Boomers born between 1946 and 1964 24
females and 26 males.
3.2. Procedures
After signing the consent form, participants
received a laminated copy of the questionnaire in
Appendix B. Consequently, they were instructed that
they were supposed to pronounce the 100 English words
(see Appendix B) in the way they pronounce them when
speaking Emirati Arabic if they ever use them. For each
word they should express the frequency they use it when
speaking Emirati Arabic: always, almost always,
sometimes, rarely, or never. Next, the interviewer
explained to participants that they should form sentences
from verbs 1, 4, 6, and the adverb 66 already, which were
highlighted in yellow in their laminated version of the
questionnaire.
Finally, the interview started. After asking
about the frequency with which they used the first word
on the list in Appendix B the verb to cancel
participants were asked in Emirati Arabic: ‘Could you
provide a sentence with this verb?’ One example was the
following:
2. Ana a bakansil b il-party c
I a will cancel b the party c
I will cancel the party.
Asking these initial questions in Emirati Arabic
- their first language (L1) makes participants focus on
their L1. In addition, the Arabization of these verbs and
the use of the adverb already were analyzed.
We would have liked to analyze more words in
context, but as the questionnaire was long, we did not
want to demotivate participants. We video-recorded
three and audio-recorded five of the interviews
(Appendix B) to be able to observe more in depth how
these English elements are being pronounced in Emirati
Arabic. We did not record more because some
participants did not give consent to be recorded. We used
a cell phone Samsung S22 to record the participants.
Apart from marking the frequency for each word
(always, almost always, sometimes, rarely, and never),
the interviewer took notes manually of the pronunciation
of some words which were highlighted in green. He also
took notes of other words whenever it was considered
relevant. The technique employed was simple:
Marking the letter ‘A’ for the pronunciation of a word
with a typical Arabic accent, for instance: if participants
pronounced ‘bark’ instead of ‘park’. The letter ‘G.’ was
marked in front of the words meaning good
pronunciation, that is, the user pronounced the word
close to English, for instance, they pronounced ‘park’,
but without making the puff of air in the phoneme [p]
which is typical in English. The letter ‘N’ stood for
native-like pronunciation whenever participants changed
the pronunciation of the sentence, going from Arabic
pronunciation to English pronunciation when they used
an English word or expression. Besides, ‘Am’ was used
for American or Canadian native-like pronunciation. Just
‘N’ implied British native-like pronunciation. For
example, one female Gen Zeer while answering question
8.c. (Appendix C) ‘Can you name some words you use
in English when you are speaking Emirati Arabic
because of social media?’ gave an example in a sentence:
3. khalni a post b a picture c
Let me a post b a picture c
Let me post a picture.
When she said khalni’, meaning ‘let me’ she
used Arabic pronunciation, as the sentence follows ‘post
a picture’ she used perfect American English
pronunciation. So, the interviewer underlined ‘post a
picture’ and marked ‘Am’ after it.
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The interviewer encouraged participants to use
Arabic, for instance, by asking for confirmation using
Arabic instead of English:
Interviewer: y3ni, abadan? ‘You mean, never?’
Gen Zeer: Yes, abadan. ’Yes, never.’
Interviewer: wa il-kalima althania? ‘And the next
word?’
The pronunciation of the following words was
analyzed. They were highlighted in green (see Appendix
B) in all the questionnaires that were exclusively filled
in by the interviewer. The analyzed phonemes were
identified in a previous study as difficult sounds for
Emirati speakers to pronounce (Ribeiro Daquila, 2023b).
In verb 4. park and in the word 19. computer the
phoneme [p] was analyzed, as most Arabs tend to
pronounce it [b] (Ribeiro Daquila, 2023b, p. 4, 6-7). The
phoneme [æ] as in ‘cat’ /kæt/ was analyzed in words 1.
cancel, 20. laptop. The pronunciation of the letter r was
analyzed in the words 48. glittler and 66. already. As
shown in Ribeiro Daquila (2023b, p.9), the ‘Standard’
English r: postalveolar approximant in English is absent
in Arabic. If participants "flapped" or "tapped" the letter
r (one single alveolar flap ]) as in Scottish, in Welsh,
and northern England English, it was considered ‘N’.
This single flap is also present in Arabic. Arabic speakers
also perform the multiple alveolar vibrating sound or
trilled r [r], as in Spanish, Italian, and Catalan in the word
burro (meaning ‘donkey’ in Spanish and Catalan; and
‘butter’ in Italian). The trilled r sound is absent in
English.” and was marked as ‘A’ (typical Arabic sound).
And finally, we analyzed the sound l in the word
‘hospital’.
After completing the 100-English-word
questionnaire in Appendix B, respondents were asked
eleven qualitative questions in Appendix C. Participants
were asked if they knew the equivalent of each word in
MSA. In case they did not, it might indicate that the word
is disseminated in English and not in the official
language. When asked if they know the equivalent words
in MSA, participants tend to say ‘yes’. The interviewer
asked participants to go through the pages of the 100-
English-word questionnaire. This second questionnaire
was available in English and in Emirati Arabic (see
Appendix D) when participants had difficulty
understanding English. 16 baby boomers answered it in
Arabic. The majority responded to questionnaire C orally
in the presence of the interviewer while some took them
home and handed them in later.
4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
We will present the results obtained from both
questionnaires in order to find out how English and
social media have been affecting Emirati Arabic in the
three generations in this study. In the 100-English-word
questionnaire, we will present how these English words
are pronounced in Emirati Arabic by the three different
generations, as well as a grammatical analysis of English
verbs and the adverb ‘already’ in Emirati Arabic.
4.1. Questionnaire with 100 words, verbs, and
expressions in English
Regarding the 100 English items used in
Emirati Arabic (see Appendix B), we divided them into
verbs, technology, food and food establishments,
medicine, cosmetics, means of transportation and car
vocabulary, and miscellaneous. We only added to the
graphs the vocabulary that is always or almost always
used by the respondents, for instance, if a participant
sometimes or rarely uses the word enjoy, we did not add
this data to the graphs.
Figure 1: Verbs in English when speaking Emirati Arabic
With regard to the participants in Gen Z,
totaling 50 young Emiratis, all of them always or almost
always use the English verbs to charge, to download, to
park, to check, to cancel, and enjoyonly used in the
imperative formwhen talking in Emirati Arabic, as we
can observe in Figure 1. The only verb that Gen Z does
not use exclusively in English is the verb ‘to finish’,
meaning ‘to quit or be dismissed from work’ in Emirati
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Arabic; this may be because this verb is related to the
labor market, and Gen Z participants are still students.
Gen Z’s mean for verbs used in English is 96.6%, while
the millennials’ mean is 69.4%. On the other hand, 14%
of baby boomers use the verb to charge and ignore most
of the other verbs. Baby boomers’ mean is 2.57%. We
can observe that the younger the generation, the more
verbs in English they employ in Emirati Arabic. These
results are in keeping with our previous study (Ribeiro
Daquila, 2022). With regard to the verb to download,
78% of millennials in this study always or almost always
use this verb, while in our previous study, 60% of
millennials used it. Therefore, there was an 18% increase
in the use of the verb to download in the present study
regarding millennials.
Concerning the pronunciation of the verb to
park, five male and two female Gen Zeers pronounced it
as ‘bark’. This means 86% of Gen Z had correct
pronunciation. Although 86% of millennials use the verb
to park, only six participants (12%) five females, and
one malepronounce the phoneme [p] correctly, and the
remaining participants pronounce it as bark. All baby
boomers pronounced it as ‘bark’. This is due to the fact
that the sound [p] is non-existent in Arabic, and most
Arabs replace [p] with [b].
Figure 2: Technology
Regarding the words related to technology in
Figure 2, the word light is the only one used 100% in the
three groups. This word was introduced in the Emirates,
more specifically in Dubai, by an Indian businessman in
1957 (D’Mello, 1919; Ribeiro Daquila, 2022). As India
was an English colony until 1947, many English words
entered the Emirates straight in English. Some of these
words suffered phonological changes in India before
entering the UAE (Al Fardan & Al Abdulla 2014;
Ribeiro Daquila 2022, p. 320). Regarding the
pronunciation of the word PDF, all participants in the
three generations pronounce it in English either /pi di ef/
or /bi di ef/.
As we can observe, many technological words
are not commonly used among baby boomers, such as
GPS, telephone, USB, power bank, laptop, and www.
When asked what they call a laptop, baby boomers
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answered ‘computer’ and regarding www., they said that
it is not important to say it out loud when you see a
webpage; another participant said that when he sends a
link, he just copies and pastes the address without the
need to say it. One participant answered: “I have seen
‘waw, waw, waw’ (referring to the consonant waw in
Arabic), but I think it is not MSA.”
Millennials always or almost always use
technological words more than 60% when compared to
baby boomers. Gen Zeers, the ‘technology generation’,
proved why they are called so, as Generation Z’s mean
for the words related to technology is 99.89%.
Baby boomers’ mean for the words related to
technology is 21.47%; millennials’ mean is 86%.
Figure 3: Food and Food Establishments
With regard to food and food establishments in
Figure 3, we can observe that some words belong to the
first linguistic phase, or the foundation phase (1809 -
1966) (Ribeiro Daquila, 2021, p. 3; Schneider, 2007),
such as milkshake, sandwich, and ice-cream, which
Emiratis do not know an equivalent in MSA; therefore,
they are used by the three generations. On the other hand,
some modern words are only used by Gen Z and
millennials, such as pack, coffeeshop, and food court.
Emiratis only experienced the concept of a food court
after the opening of the first shopping mall in the mid-
80s (Nair, 2002), that is, in the second linguistic phase of
Schneider (1966-2004).
We can conclude that, regarding food and food
establishments, millennials and Gen Zeers use more
words in English than baby boomers. Gen Z's mean is
100%, while the millennials’ is 88, and the baby
boomers’ mean is 28.93%. Concerning the word
milkshake among millennials, the mean rose from 86%
in our previous study (Ribeiro Daquila, 2022) to 100%.
In our previous study, there were only two participants
in the millennials who did not use the word milkshake.
One participant was from Al-Ain, a city not so
influenced by English, where 35% of the population
consists of Emiratis, while the other participant worked
for the government and confessed to avoiding using
foreign words. It is important to notice that Emiratis also
use the word coffee as a synonym for coffee shop.
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Figure 4: Medicine
Concerning the medicine vocabulary in Figure
4, we can see that doctor is the preferred word by
Emiratis to mean doctor, instead of the MSA word
‘tabib’, 32% of baby boomers pronounce it as dakhtoor.
One female baby boomer also said that she might say:
‘baseer dakhtoor’ or ‘baseer dakhtar’ meaning ‘I’m
going to the doctor’ or ‘I am going to the hospital’.
Interviewer: Same same? meaning ‘the same thing?’
Baby boomer: Same same! meaning ‘the same thing.’
100% of Gen Z would not always/almost
always use the word hospitalia. But four girls said they
could sometimes use the word hospital. When the
interviewer asked one of them why she uses the word
hospital, she said that it was too sound ‘cool’ with her
girlfriends. Instead of using the regular plural suffix for
borrowed words -at hospitalat, she would say hospitals.
There are only 12% of baby boomers who sometimes say
hospital pronounced ‘ospital’, 80% rarely use the word
hospital and prefer the MSA word Moustashfa or the
Emirati variant dakhtar. These percentages for the word
hospital are not present in our graph, as we only added
words that are always or almost always used by Emiratis.
Another important observation is that 76% of Gen Z and
8% of the millennials pronounced the word hospital with
a perfect English velar l sound (dark l [ɫ]), while most
speakers belonging to millennials and all participants in
baby boomers pronounced the typical Arabic l sound
(light l [l]).
Baby boomers’ mean concerning medical terms
is 33.3%; millennials’ is 64%, while Gen Z’ mean is
66.6%. While millennials obtained the same mean for the
word coat abyad ‘white coat’ in our previous study, Gen
Z increased it from 96% to 100%.
Figure 5: Cosmetics
As we can observe in Figure 5, make-up items
are new in the Arab cultures, as baby boomers only put
on mainly eyeliners, or in Arabic, kohl, a type of coal
used by queens of ancient Egypt and still worn by
Bedouin men (Bateman, 2020). All female Gen Zeers, 24
out of 50 participants, use cosmetics vocabulary
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exclusively in English, and they do not know the
equivalents of glitter, base, and lipstick in MSA.
Regarding boys, although they do not put make-up on,
when asked ‘would you call it a lipstick or do you know
another name for that?’ Some of the answers were: ‘My
sister says it’, ‘I hear it on Snapchat/Instagram’. If boys
did not know another word for the item, then we
considered it valid; in other words, we counted it as
always/almost always.
Regarding pronunciation, all female and three
male Gen Zeers pronounced glitter either with the final
[ɹ] sound as in American, Canadian, and Irish English
(retroflex) /ˈɡlɪ .əɹ/, or non-Rhotic (typical British
pronunciation) /ˈɡlɪt.ə/. Eight female millennials were
marked with the letter ‘N’, meaning British
pronunciation’, as they flapped the final r only once.
Almost all men in the millennials and all participants in
the baby boomers pronounced it with the trilled r [r], the
typical r sound in Arabic.
Baby boomers’ mean of words related to
cosmetics is 0%, while millennials’ mean is 67.2%, and
Gen Z’s mean is 86.4%. We can conclude that
globalization brought new cosmetic items into Emirati
culture. All these cosmetics given in English were
mentioned in our previous study (Ribeiro Daquila, 2022)
by female participants belonging to the Gen Z group as
examples of words they used in Emirati Arabic.
Regarding the word lipstick, the alternative word is not
the Arabic word 'ahmar alshifah lit. ‘red of the lips’, but
the French word rouge meaning ‘red’, as the clipped
form for the full form rouge à lèvres, lit. ‘red for the lips’.
Figure 6: Means of transportation and car vocabulary
In Figure 6, The words tram, cycle (meaning
bicycle), brake, and bonnet are always used in Emirati
Arabic by the three generations. Regarding the word bus,
the first minibuses were introduced in Dubai in 1968 by
the Indian Tata Motors group (Gokulan, 2015), and since
then it has been called bus. The mean of Gen Z is 100%;
millennials’ is 90%, and baby boomers’ is 64.75%.
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Figure 7: Miscellaneous
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baby boomers
millennials
Gen Z
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Figure 7 shows us miscellaneous words in
English used in Emirati Arabic. We can observe Gen Z’s
proclivity to words and expressions in English,
millennials using them more moderately and baby
boomers avoiding them. Gen Z’s mean for these words
is 99.65%. This mean is greater than millennials’, which
is 84.24%.
Baby boomers’ mean is 24.63%. The words
used by baby boomers are the ones that were introduced
into Emirati Arabic straight from English, like television,
wire, glass, shovel, and hose. The words that are used
less than 10% in this group were employed by female
speakers, like weekend, lab, and free. Only two male
Emiratis always/almost always use the word
businessman instead of the Arabic word rajul a’mal.
All Gen Zeers use the adverb already, whereas
62% of millennials use it. When asked to make a
sentence with already, participants came up with the
following sentences:
4. already a sharabt b gahwa c
already a drank b coffee c
I’ve already drunk coffee.
5. Hanan a already b aklat c
Hanan a already b ate c
Hannan has already eaten.
As we can see, the adverb already when used in
Emirati Arabic has a much more flexible position than in
English. There was a slight increase in the use of the
word already, both among millennials and Gen Z, from
60% to 62%, and 98% to 100% respectively.
30% of the Gen Z participants (all of them girls)
reported always using the word good luck, and 70% said
that they almost always employ it. In the millennial
group, 16% sometimes use good luck, and 4% (all boys)
rarely use it and prefer the Arabic form bi tawfeeq.
Regarding the word stamp, it is important to
highlight that in 1941 the British post was inaugurated in
Dubai (Onley, 2009; Ribeiro Daquila, 2023b). From
1948 on, all letters sent in the Trucial States used British
stamps showing the British monarchy. Therefore, the
word stamp is common in Emirati Arabic; even 90% of
baby boomers sometimes or rarely use this word when
speaking Emirati Arabic.
Our first research question poses the question
whether there are phonetical and/or grammar differences
in the incorporation of English words and expressions in
the three groups.
With respect to pronunciation, we can conclude
that some words keep the original pronunciation in
English, this was the case of the word PDF, which was
Arabized in more than 50% of the cases to /bi di ef/ or
maintained the [p] sound. Baby boomers tend to Arabize
the pronunciation of English words in Emirati Arabic
when compared to the younger generations. For instance,
the verb to park, was pronounced as bark’ by 100% of
baby boomers, while 88% of millennials also Arabized
the pronunciation. Only 10% of male and 4% of female
Gen Zeers Arabized the word, pronouncing it ‘bark’
while the remaining 86% pronounced park with a [p]
sound.
Regarding the word computer, the percentage
of English-like pronunciation slightly decreased among
Gen Zeers and millennials. Nine male and five female
Gen Zeers totaling 28% Arabized the pronunciation
of the word computer, pronouncing it as [b] instead of
[p]. Only 1 male and 3 female millennials (8%)
pronounced a clear [p] sound. All baby boomers
pronounced it as [b]. This Arabization may be because
the [m] is voiced, and the tendency is to pronounce a
voiced sound after it, in this case, [b]. There were nine
cases in which the [p] sound in the word computer was
not clear. A study in a laboratory should be carried out to
analyze this phenomenon.
Concerning the sound of the letter r in the word
glitter. All female and 11 male Gen Zeers used either the
American retroflex sound [ɹ] or the British non-rhotic r.
Eight male Gen Zeers who were marked with ‘N’,
pronounced the final r with a single flap [ɾ] (the typical
Scottish pronunciation). Most male millennials and all
participants in the baby boomers pronounced a trilled r
[r]. Eight female millennials were marked with the letter
‘N’, as they pronounced it with a single flap. Regarding
the word ‘already’ (where [ɹ] is in mid-position), two
female Gen Zeers pronounced a single flap r which was
considered ‘N’. In final position in the word ‘glitter’, this
single flap r sound did not occur among the female Gen
Zeers. One female Gen Zeer also pronounced the trilled
r [r], common in Arabic. Seven female and 4 male
millennials pronounced a single flap. The remaining
participants pronounced it as a trilled r [r].
Regarding the letter l in final position, 76% of
Gen Z (24 females and 14 males) pronounced the word
hospital with the English velar l sound, or dark l [ɫ].
Female Gen Zeers outperformed the male participants.
Our findings are in keeping with those of Oga-Baldwin
and Nakata (2017), who concluded that, compared to
boys, girls exhibit a stronger propensity to engage in
language-focused activities, such as learning a foreign
language.
8% of the millennials also pronounced it with
the English velar l sound, while most millennials and all
participants in baby boomers pronounced the typical
Arabic l sound (light l).
With regard to the phoneme [æ] as in cat /kæt/,
it is the most Arabized sound. Participants had to create
sentences in Arabic with the verb cancel and the word
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laptop. Only 4 female Gen Zeers pronounced these two
words with a perfect [æ] sound.
We can conclude that the younger the
generation, the less Arabization of sounds there is.
Concerning grammar, we could observe that all
the verbs follow the conjugation of Arabic verbs, except
for the verb enjoy, which is only used in the imperative
form, and the verb post and take, mentioned by one
female Gen Zeer, in the sentence ‘khalni post a picture’,
meaning ‘let me post a picture’ and in the expression
khalna take a selfie’, meaning ‘let’s take a selfie’. These
were the only three verbs that were not Arabized in our
study.
The adverb already has a flexible position in the
verb; however, there are some rules. The following two
sentences are correct, for instance:
6. Hanan a already b aklat c is-simach d
Hanan a already b ate c the fish d
Hannan has already eaten the fish.
7. Hannan a aklat b is-simach [
] c already d
Hannan a. ate b the fish c already d
Hannan has already eaten the fish.
It would be incorrect to start this sentence with
already. That is, ‘already Hanan ate the cake’ is
incorrect. Nevertheless, it is possible to start a sentence
with the adverb already when we omit its subject. This
is uncommon in English, but it is common in Latin
languages and in Arabic. The following sentence is
correct:
8. already a sharab b maai c
already a drank b water c
He has already drunk water.
This shows that when integrating certain
English grammatical categories into Emirati Arabic,
their integration follows the grammatical structure of
Arabic, not English.
Regarding our second research question ‘Is the
influence of English in Emirati Arabic greater in the
present Gen Z group aged 15-16, when compared to Gen
Zeers aged 17-18 surveyed three years ago (Ribeiro
Daquila, 2022)?’, a slight increase in the use of English
by Gen Zeers in this present study was noticed when
compared to our previous study, whose data was
collected prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The word free increased from 82% to 100%.
However, let us break down this figure: 82% of Gen
Zeers always used the word free when speaking Emirati
Arabic, and 18% sometimes used it. In the present study,
we have 86% that always use free and 14% that almost
always use it. Even though this small increase is not
statistically significant, future studies should analyze
whether these percentages keep increasing. In other
words, it should be analyzed whether Gen Zeers keep
increasing the number and frequency of English words
in Emirati Arabic.
With regard to our third research question,
which analyzes English usage across the three
generations, Table 1 reveals a marked increase in English
adoption among Gen Z Emiratis compared to Baby
Boomers. On average, Gen Z participants used English
significantly more frequently across all seven categories
examined. The most striking discrepancy appears in
technology-related vocabulary, where Gen Z
demonstrated near-complete reliance on English
(99.89%) compared to a mere 21.47% for Baby
Boomers. Furthermore, Gen Z consistently surpassed
Millennials in English usage across nearly all categories,
suggesting a generational shift towards increasing
English integration in everyday communication.
Notably, while Baby Boomers rarely used English words
for cosmetics (0%), Gen Z embraced it readily (86.4%).
This aligns with trends of globalization and
digitalization, where English serves as a common
language for online interaction and technology
consumption. However, while the trend towards English
prevalence within Gen Z is evident, the table also
highlights variations across categories. In medicine, for
example, both Millennials and Gen Z exhibited a decline
in English usage compared to Baby Boomers, reflecting
the importance of different terminology in healthcare
contexts, such as moustashfa and dakhtar.
Table 1: The mean of each category for the three generation cohorts
Simach in Emirati Arabic equals to samak in MSA,
meaning ‘fish’.
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4.2. Second Questionnaire
In this second questionnaire (see Appendix C),
we analyzed the influence of social media in the Arabic
language, its use during the pandemic, and the linguistics
concerns of the three generations regarding the future of
Emirati Arabic.
Concerning question one ‘Are there other
words you can think of?’, Emirati Gen Zeers suggested
the following words in English that they regularly use
when speaking Emirati Arabic.
Aksayt Derived from the English word excite,’ it is
used to express excitement or enthusiasm. For example:
9. Ana a aksayt b l’il-party c
I a excited b about the party c
I am excited about the party.
Baby /Beibi/ it is commonly used as a term of
endearment for a loved one. For example:
10. Inta a baby b
You a baby b
You are my baby.
Joke used to refer to a joke, often inserted into Arabic
conversations. For instance:
11. ’Andak a joke? b
At you a joke? b
Do you have a joke?
Cute used to describe something or someone as
adorable or charming. For example:
12. Hatha a baby b cute. c
This a baby b cute. c
This baby is cute.
Happy for instance:
13. kul a sana b wa c inta d happy e
every a year. b and c you d happy e
Happy birthday!
Selfie an example provided by a female Gen Zeer:
14. khalna a take a selfie b
let us a take a selfie b
Let us take a selfie.
Hashtag for example:
15. La a tansa b the hashtags c
Don’t a forget b the hashtags c
Don’t forget the hashtags.
The following English words and phrases
related to the workplace and professional environments
were also suggested by Emirati millennials:
CV for instance,
16. tarrasht a CV b
I sent a CV b
I sent a CV.
Deadline for instance,
17. ‘andy a deadline b at 3 pm c
At me a deadline b at 3 pm c
I have a deadline at 3 pm.
Interview for instance:
18. ‘andy a interview b alyoum c
At me a interview b today c
I have an interview today.
We recommend adding these words to future
studies in order to build a greater English lexicon in
Emirati Arabic.
As regards question two, ‘Is there any word
from the list above that you do not know how to say in
Modern Standard Arabic?’, baby boomers know all the
equivalent words in Arabic. It is also true that there are
some words that they did not understand, such as
cupcake, power bank, share location, food court, glitter,
and base. Millennials, on the other hand, did not know
the equivalent in Arabic for some words, such as
power bank, scooter, gas cylinder, food court, glitter,
base, and hose. The most alarming result is Gen Z’s, who
did not know the equivalent in Arabic of 36 words. These
are the words that were unknown to more than twenty-
five Gen Zeers: those related to cosmetics: glitter, base,
lipstick; words related to technology: Wi-Fi, GPS, power
bank (some said charger, which is not the same), and
PDF; food-related vocabulary: cheesecake and
milkshake; and transportation: scooter.
In order to answer research question 4, ‘Does
social media have an impact on the increase in English
words and expressions in Emirati Gen Z speech?’,
questions 4 to 10 were created (see Appendix C).
Question 3 will be analyzed later in this section.
Concerning question four, During the
pandemic, did you increase the use of social media?’ The
three generation cohorts confessed to increasing it.
However, Gen Zeers were the ones who increased the
most, an average of 4 hours and a half more per day,
while millennials and baby boomers increased by around
3 hours. Most millennials confessed to teleworking, so
they could not spend more time on the phone, whereas
baby boomers preferred to spend time with the family
and the females also had to take care of the house chores.
Regarding question five, the most used social
media for baby boomers were Facebook with 49 users,
including Facebook Messenger, and YouTube with 41
users. 13 baby boomers also reported using Instagram.
The reasons why these were baby boomers’ favorite
platforms were 74% because they could get information
about the pandemic; 86% to be in touch with family and
friends; and 60% to shop online.
Regarding millennials, 40 participants used
YouTube, 37 used Facebook, and 33 used Instagram.
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The reasons why these were their favorite platforms in
the case of millennials were 62% because they could get
information about the pandemic; 82% to be in touch with
family and friends; and 64% to shop online.
Concerning Gen Z, 50 Gen Zeers used
Instagram, 43 used TikTok, and 39 used Snapchat. 48%
of Gen Z preferred Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat to
kill time; 68% to follow influencers and brands; and
mainly to be in touch with their friends (78%).
These results are not in accordance with
Tarihoran and Sumirat’s study (2022, p. 61) with
Indonesian Gen Zeers, whose favorite platform was
Facebook with 43.15%, followed by YouTube with
31.25%.
Regarding the present use of social media
question number 6 baby boomers use it to be in touch
with friends and family (78%), to read the news (38%),
and to purchase (34%). 80% of millennials use social
media to be in touch with friends; 62% to work, do
research, or work-related issues; 60% to make new
contacts; 58% to read the news; 56% to purchase items;
and 52% to follow brands and celebrities. They use
English either because it is trendier or because they have
just seen the information in English and retweeted it (in
the case of X). Concerning Gen Z, 96% use social media
to be in touch with friends; 68% to make new contacts;
64% to see the content of brands; and 60% to follow
celebrities.
With respect to question seven, ‘When you use
social media, which language do you use?’, baby
boomers post and comment in Emirati Arabic, but more
than posting, they use social media to see others’ posts.
They feel that Arabic is their language; therefore, it
should be reflected in their posts. They think that social
media is affecting the Arabic language as more and more
posts are in English; hence, all of them would like to see
more posts in Arabic. Millennials post more than 85% in
English as they seek a global reach and consider English
the language of social media. On the other hand,
Millennials see English as an inevitable consequence of
globalization and modernity; 84% do not mind
posting/reading posts in English, while 16% would like
to see more posts in Arabic. With respect to Gen Z,
which is the generation of technology, 96% post
exclusively in English. They see English as the
international language of communication, and they do
not see English as a threat to their Arabic.
With reference to question 8, ‘Do you use more
English words in Emirati Arabic because of social
media?’, 82% of baby boomers answered no. Other
answers were: ‘a little’, ‘only influencer, haha’, ‘I don’t
think so’, and ‘a couple of words, maybe’. 89% of
millennials said yes. The ones who disagreed answered:
‘I don’t think it is influence; it is globalization’, ‘I don’t
see any harm in saying influencer or hashtag’; ‘We speak
like the rest of the world’. 88% of Gen Z answered yes.
The ones who differed replied: ‘The influence is
everywhere, social media is just another more’, ‘Going
to a mall makes me speak more English than using
Snapchat.’ One male Gen Zeer said that he likes to add
stories on Snapchat in which he is listening to the Emirati
hip-hop singer ‘Freek’, who sings both in Emirati
Arabic, and English. In his case, he prefers to listen to
music in Arabic and whenever he comments on a Snap,
it depends on the friend, he might use either English or
Arabic.
Gen Zeers indicated that they enjoy listening to
English-language music, both on TikTok and Instagram;
one female participant indicated that the Reels contain
mostly songs in English, and another female participant
mentioned that the trendy songs on TikTok are always in
English, which contributes to more English words and
expressions in their vocabulary in Arabic. Two female
Gen Zeers confirmed that they use most make-up
vocabulary in English because of influencers or make-up
tutorials they watch on social media.”
The participants use the following social media words
when speaking Emirati Arabic:
Baby boomers: Two female participants mentioned the
word hashtag, 4 participants mentioned social media,
and 3 females gave the word influencer as an example.
The majority of participants did not come up with any
words.
Millennials: hashtag (12 participants), social media (3
participants), selfie (9 participants), and swipe (1
participant).
Gen Z: block (4 participants), selfie (4 participants),
swipe (7 participants), screenshot (3 participants),
hashtag (5 participants), followers (4 participants),
password (3 participants), live (2 participants), content
(1 participant), social media (2 participants), post (2
participants), location (1 participant), take a selfie and
post a picture (1 female Gen Zeer).
These results are in line with Alenazi’s study
(2023, p.20), which demonstrated that social media
significantly increased and propagated several English
expressions in Saudi culture. Saudis learned various
English words through social media apps, and they
utilized these phrases in oral and written interactions
throughout their everyday lives. Depending on how the
Saudis used the English language, this phenomenon was
either beneficial or detrimental.
In order to answer our final research question,
‘Can English be considered a threat to the endurance of
Emirati Arabic?’, questions 3, 11, and 12 (see Appendix
C) were analyzed. With reference to question three,
which enquires about the influence of English on Arabic,
100% of baby boomers are concerned about such
influence. 84% of millennials also see English as a threat
to Emirati Arabic. These results are in keeping with our
study (Ribeiro Daquila, 2020, p. 6-7), in which 84% of
Jean Pierre Ribeiro Daquila, Sch Int J Linguist Lit, Apr, 2024; 7(4): 120-144
© 2024 | Published by Scholars Middle East Publishers, Dubai, United Arab Emirates 136
parents, whose mean age was 38, believed that MSA and
Emirati Arabic should be the focus at school in lieu of
English. Gen Z, on the other hand, sees English
proficiency as development and a signal of globalization.
One male Gen Zeer answered: ‘Dubai is international,
you can’t do business without English’; 6 male and 4
female Gen Zeers mentioned English as a key to
succeeding at university; one male Gen Zeer said: ‘We
need to pass the English exam to enter university’; 1
female and 6 male Gen Zeers said that they can’t have a
good salary without English.
Regarding question 11, exclusively to baby
boomers and millennials, ‘Does the fact that the new
generations might speak English instead of Emirati
Arabic worry you?’ Not only do baby boomers see
English as a threat to future generations, but they also
consider it a threat to Gen Z at present. They were
unanimous in saying that Gen Z overuses English and is
losing some Arabic vocabulary.
68% of millennials see the use of English as an
inevitable consequence of globalization and modernity,
while 32% see the overuse of English as a threat to future
generations. Three female millennials also mentioned
that future generations might lose Arabic proficiency.
One female millennial Expressed: ‘The young
generation doesn’t know Fusha (MSA), and it will be
worse in the future, but the dialect will not die, but
change.’
Concerning question 12, exclusively to Gen
Zeers, ‘Are you concerned about the fact that your kids
might speak English instead of Emirati Arabic?’, the
answer was no. Participants were unanimous in saying
that they were willing to have bilingual kids and that this
would make their kids prepared for the future. Fourteen
female Gen Zeers stated that they would speak both
Emirati Arabic and English with their kids. Seven female
Gen Zeers expressed that they would enroll their kids in
international schools, while 4 female participants
mentioned bilingual education for their kids. Male Gen
Zeers were very succinct, the great majority just
answered ‘no’.
As the three groups do not see eye to eye on
whether English poses a threat to Arabic in the UAE, we
suggest further studies to analyze the complex
sociolinguistics of the country. The findings regarding
our fourth research question are in keeping with Kennetz
and Carroll’s (2018) study, which concluded that even
though English is also perceived as having a detrimental
impact on culture and the local language, it nonetheless
provides Emiratis with access to education, work, and
the global community. They claim that English has
undoubtedly established a place in Emirati society, rather
than that it is completely displacing native Arabic.
5. CONCLUSIONS
As we have observed, English words and
phrases are being used in the Arabic language in the
UAE, particularly among Gen Z, and social media is also
responsible for such influence. These results are in line
with the studies of Siemund et al., (2020), Carroll et al.,
(2017), Kennetz and Carroll (2018), and Ribeiro Daquila
(2020, 2022) concerning an increase in English words in
Emirati Arabic by Gen Z, and are also in keeping with
Tarihoran and Sumirat’s (2022) and Alenazi’s (2023)
research regarding the increase of English words in
Indonesian and in Saudi Arabic respectively due to
social media use.
English has ingrained itself into many Gen Z
Emiratis' daily lives and identities (Ziad, 2019, Ribeiro
Daquila, 2022). The UAE's cosmopolitan atmosphere
and willingness to interact with the international
community are reflected in the country’s bilingualism.
This influence is also due to globalization, technology,
the widespread use of the internet, the labor market
(Ameen and Anand, 2020), and the change in the school
curriculum from Arabic to bilingual English and Arabic
(Ziad, 2019, Ribeiro Daquila, 2022).
Social media and media in general are
responsible for making English more and more popular
among Gen Z, who has easy access to English content
through social media platforms, streaming services, and
internet platforms, English language use is being
increasingly supported (Alenazi, 2023, p. 5). Gen Z also
stated that they feel comfortable posting in English. The
fluency of Generation Z in English is due in part to their
early exposure to the language (KHDA, 2011; Ribeiro
Daquila, 2020, 2023b).
Emirati Arabic demonstrates some grammatical
characteristics in the use of the adverb already that has a
flexible position and the Arabization of most English
verbs, except enjoy, which is always used in the
imperative form by most users, and post and take, which
were used in the bare infinitive form by a Gen Zeer.
More research is needed to analyze the Arabization of
verbs in the UAE.
Regarding pronunciation and having Arabic as
the matrix language, when Emiratis use some loan words
from English in the middle of their speech, Gen Z has a
more English-like pronunciation when compared to
millennials. Girls in Gen Z and millennials outperformed
the boys. Baby boomers use Arabic pronunciation to
pronounce words in English, for instance, they
pronounce park as ‘bark’ and computer as combuter’.
This may be because they went to school in the Arabic
curriculum.
It is important to note that the degree of the
English language effect on Emirati Gen Z may vary
based on elements like urbanization, educational
attainment, and exposure to transnational trends. Arabic
Jean Pierre Ribeiro Daquila, Sch Int J Linguist Lit, Apr, 2024; 7(4): 120-144
© 2024 | Published by Scholars Middle East Publishers, Dubai, United Arab Emirates 137
continues to be the primary language for formal
communication and cultural expression in Arab
communities, despite the fact that English phrases have
undoubtedly entered the vocabulary of many Gen Z
Arabs, as previous studies (Ribeiro Daquila, 2022;
Alenazi, 2023) indicated.
We hope to have sparked new scholarly interest
in the linguistics and repertoires of Emiratis. Even
though the current study could only scratch the surface
of the fascinatingly complex linguistic environment of
the country, we were able to increase our list of English
words, verbs, and expressions used in the UAE
compared to our previous study (Ribeiro Daquila 2022).
The UAE presents a remarkable situation of language
interaction that promises to deepen our understanding of
language mixing.
This paper presents a few limitations as well as
proposals to be improved in future studies. The major
restriction is that the whole set of data is based on
subjective responses to the questionnaire in Appendix B,
which may not reflect the actual usage of
words/expressions in naturally occurring speech. In
addition, some words indicated in this 100-word survey
are used globally and are not limited to the UAE, e.g. Wi-
Fi, CV, and PDF.
Another limitation is regarding the number of
participants. Having groups of around twenty-five
participants per gender in each group may not be
sufficient to test for homogeneity. In future research, an
expanded number of participants would surely invigorate
the outcomes and, subsequently, the capacity to analyze
the findings of the current study more precisely. Another
suggestion is to ask for the occupation of participants and
if they are bilingual, as there are cases of Emirati children
whose mothers are expats. As linguistic changes in the
UAE occur at a fast pace, another suggestion is to keep
enlarging the list of English words used in the UAE and
to administer it in a quinquennial to observe the changes
in this period. We also encourage researchers to repeat
this study in small towns in which there are fewer expats,
resulting in more interactions among natives and less
need to use English to communicate.
A long-term goal is to analyze to what extent
English will influence the grammar, semantics,
pragmatics, and phonology of the UAE.
Funding: “This research received no external funding.”
Informed Consent Statement: Informed consent was
obtained from all subjects involved in the study.
Institutional Review Board Statement: The study was
conducted in accordance with the Declaration of
Helsinki, and approved by the Institutional Review
Board of Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Facultad
de Filología, approved in 2019, last reviewed on 10 May
2023 as part of my second PhD thesis.
Acknowledgments: I acknowledge that AI was used
after the first review to improve connectors and double-
check grammar accuracy as well as to generate the image
on page 4.
Conflicts of Interest: The author declares no conflict of
interest.
Disclaimer/Publisher’s Note: The statements, opinions
and data contained in all publications are solely those of
the individual author and not of Publisher and/or the
editor(s). Publisher and/or the editor(s) disclaim
responsibility for any injury to people or property
resulting from any ideas, methods, instructions or
products referred to in the content.
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APPENDIX A
Demographic questionnaire
Age group: __ 15-16 __ 40-45 __ 60 and over
gender: __ male __ female
Education level:
__ none or incomplete
__ high school ( __ Arabic curriculum __ bilingual English-Arabic)
___ bachelor’s degree ___ master’s degree __ PhD
Have you ever lived in an English-speaking country? __ yes __ no
Jean Pierre Ribeiro Daquila, Sch Int J Linguist Lit, Apr, 2024; 7(4): 120-144
© 2024 | Published by Scholars Middle East Publishers, Dubai, United Arab Emirates 140
City of work (if applicable): ___________
Where do you live?: ____________
APPENDIX B
100 English words used in Emirati Arabic
1. Which of the following words do you use when you are speaking Arabic with other Emiratis or Arabic speakers? If so,
how often do you use them?
Age range: 15 - 16 40 - 45 60 and over
Always
almost
always
sometimes
rarely
never
alternative
word
1 ncelato c
2 to check
3 to finish (a contract)
4 arkpto
5 to download 
6 enjoy!
7 To charge
Can you think of more verbs?
8 charger 
9 phone 
10 mobile
11 GPS
12 location
13 share location
14 telephone
15 USB (pen drive  )
16 Online 
17 power bank
18 password
19 computer
20 laptop
21 mouse
22 keyboard
23 www.
24 Wi-Fi 
25 PDF
26 Light /layt/ pl. layat
27 cheesecake
28 Milk shake 
29 food court
30 cake
31 sandwich
32 ice-cream
33 cupcake
34 cafeteria
35 coffee
36 cream
Jean Pierre Ribeiro Daquila, Sch Int J Linguist Lit, Apr, 2024; 7(4): 120-144
© 2024 | Published by Scholars Middle East Publishers, Dubai, United Arab Emirates 141
37 chips
38 pack
39 Fresh
40 supermarket
41 freezer
42 Coffe shop 
43 (ia)hospital
44 doctor
45 Coat abyad 
46 make-up
47 Lipstick
48 glitter
49 eyeliner
50 highlighter
51 base
52 hose
53 shovel
54 business 
55 businessman
56 sorry 
57 nice
58 bye 
59 hi
60 yes
61 good luck
62 Gym 
63 gym time / qa7ua time /3Sir time
64 glass 
65 project
66 eadyral
67 Same 
68 Class 
69 Free 
70 weekend
71 wire
72 lab
73 goal
74 stamp
75 pink
76 gas cylinder
77 gas
78 hammer
79 Lift 
80 stop (playing games)
81 cover (telephone)
Jean Pierre Ribeiro Daquila, Sch Int J Linguist Lit, Apr, 2024; 7(4): 120-144
© 2024 | Published by Scholars Middle East Publishers, Dubai, United Arab Emirates 142
82 boots
83 jacket
84 shoes
85 So, you know
86 Mall 
87 refugee
88 private
89 television
90 presentation
91 notes
92 limited edition
93 tram
94 Bus
95 scooter
96 Cycle
97 brake (car)
98 bonnet
99 license
100. parking 
APPENDIX C
Interview with Gen Z, Millennials, and Baby Boomers
1. Can you think of other English words that you frequently use in your speech when speaking Emirati Arabic?
_____________________________
2. Is there any word from the list above that you do not know how to say in Modern Standard Arabic?
____________________________________________________________
3. Is English influencing Emirati Arabic more than it should?
____________________________________________________________
4. During the pandemic, did you increase the use of social media?
___________________________________________________________
5. Which were the social media you used the most?
___________________________________________________________
5.b. Why did you prefer this social media during the pandemic?
____________________________________________________________
6. Mark below the main reasons why you use social media.
To keep in touch with friends __
To keep in touch with family __
To fill spare time __
To read news stories __
To find inspiration for things to do and buy __
To watch or follow sports __
To watch live streams __
To see what people are talking about __
To make new contacts __
To find content (for example, videos, memes) __
To work, to research or work-related issues __
To see content from brands __
To follow celebrities or influencers __
6.b. Can you give other reasons why you use social media?
_____________________________________________
7. When you use social media, which language(s) do you use (to post and comment and read)?
______________________________________________________________
Jean Pierre Ribeiro Daquila, Sch Int J Linguist Lit, Apr, 2024; 7(4): 120-144
© 2024 | Published by Scholars Middle East Publishers, Dubai, United Arab Emirates 143
7.b. Why?
______________________________________________________________
8. Do you use more English words in Emirati Arabic because of social media?
8.b. Why?
______________________________________________________________
8.c. Can you name some words you use in English when you are speaking Emirati Arabic because of social media?
_______________________________________________________________
9. Would you like to see more posts in (Emirati) Arabic on social media?
______________________________________________________________
9.b. Why?
______________________________________________________________
10. Would you like to post more in (Emirati) Arabic?
______________________________________________________________
10.b. Why?
______________________________________________________________
Exclusively to millennials and baby boomers:
11. Does the fact that the new generations might speak English instead of Emirati Arabic worry you?
_____________________________________________________________________
Exclusively to Gen Z:
12. Are you concerned about the fact that your kids might speak English instead of Emirati Arabic?
_____________________________________________________________________
APPENDIX D
Interview with Gen Z, Millennials, and Baby Boomers in Emirati Arabic
1. 
________________________________________________

________________________________________________

_______________________________________________
4. 
_______________________________________________
5. 
_______________________________________________

_______________________________________________
6. 
 __
 __
 __
 __
 __
 __
 __
 __
 __
 __
 __
 __
 __

________________________________________________________________
7. 
______________________________________________________________
Jean Pierre Ribeiro Daquila, Sch Int J Linguist Lit, Apr, 2024; 7(4): 120-144
© 2024 | Published by Scholars Middle East Publishers, Dubai, United Arab Emirates 144

______________________________________________________________
8. 
_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________
9. 


_______________________________________________
10. 
_______________________________________________

_______________________________________________
Exclusively to millennials and baby boomers:
11. 

_______________________________________
Exclusively to Gen Z :
12. 

_________________________________________
Interview with Gen Z, Millennials, and Baby Boomers in Arabic